Berniaga partners Intel to bring underprivileged Indonesians up to speed on tech

Reynazran Royono, deputy general manager of Berniaga.com

Berniaga.com, one of Indonesia’s heavy hitters in ecommerce, held a press conference today to announce its new partnership with global tech giant Intel on Indonesian NGO Dompet Dhuafa’s Sekolah Guru Indonesia project. The initiative is part of an effort to raise digital literacy rates in the archipelago’s remote and rural areas. Sekolah Guru Indonesia trains devoted youngsters to become model teachers in hopes of nurturing the culture’s thirst for higher education, namely in high-poverty areas like North Kalimantan’s Nunukan regency.

Upgrading the underprivileged

The digital literacy program that Intel has put together for Sekolah Guru Indonesia includes basic computer skills education across multiple software platforms. The first five modules provide practical skills like word processing, Excel spreadsheets, Internet, and email. Additional modules focus on Internet-based tools, and how to use basic software for employment and entrepreneurship purposes. The course is 28 hours in total, broken up into 14 two-hour modules.

See: Korean Teens Top Tests of Digital Literacy Skills

“This is the first time we’ve done any kind of CSR,” explains Berniaga deputy general manager Reynazran Royono. “We don’t want to just donate, and then leave. We want to make sure the money is going to the right place.” Intel and Berniaga have named the program 1 Klik Dobel Hepinya, and it works like this: every time Berniaga users make a digital listing on the portal, Berniaga will donate Rp5,000 (US$0.43) to help fund the program.

Deva Rachman, corporate affairs director of Intel Indonesia

Philanthropic conversions

Royono says, “Hopefully when our users make ads, they will see that Berniaga is donating this amount to such a good cause, and they will be driven to make more ads on our site. I hope it will make them think of other things they can sell, but maybe haven’t thought to post yet.”

Deva Rachman, Intel Indonesia’s corporate affairs director, says, “Information and communications technology capability is urgently needed by the public, especially the labor force.” Intel will additionally provide the hardware and software for the initiative.

This past May, Intel Indonesia’s channel sales director Harry K. Nugraha told The Jakarta Post that Indonesia has 74 million potential customers.